Yesterday’s Times had had a KHL preview. True, it was their hockey blog and not the print edition, but you can’t help but wonder if all of this interest KHL will eventually lead to some kind of TV package. I would love for the NHL to take a leadership role in this, maybe showing games on the NHL Network. And how great would an NHL/KHL All-Star game be? And for something like that, the NHL wouldn’t even care when a talented player left the league, since the player would probably return for the All-Star game, which would have to rate higher than the current All-Star game.
Speaking of NHL All-Stars, Ed Moran says Eric Lindros should be at the Philadelphia Spectrum farewell game (the Spectrum is being demolished). Moran acknowledges Lidros’ tortured history with the Flyers but says Lindros needs to be the bigger person. I wish Moran had said that instead of Lindros forgiving the Flyers, the Flyers need to formally or informally apologize to Lindros for basically torturing him during his final years as a Flyer. It’s not like he chose to be concussion-prone.
Also, I totally don’t remember goalie Ty Conklin signing a one-year, $750,000 deal to be the backup goalie in Detroit, but apparently he did.
Who’s his agent? How could he not turn last season’s work for Pittsburgh into a better deal?
Of course, last year Detroit’s backup goalie, Chris Osgood, wound up winning the starting job and then the Stanley Cup, so maybe Conklin is hoping lightning will strike twice.Also, Darren McCarty will be back in Detroit next season, on another two-way contract. I don’t feel like it’s truly a Detroit team unless McCarty is around somewhere.